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FYI, Vince Maranta was the only guy I ever saw fly a Speed Series kite with true precision.

I remember in 1995 or 1996 at Berkeley, there were some real top guns in town for quad line comps, and Vince came out of nowhere and blew 'em all away fair and square, with a vented Supersonic... Fantastic, wish I had video of that now.

It's interesting though, because I believe Rev flying has taken a huge leap starting in 2006 or so... The amount of information that has been realized and made available, tuning techniques that were distributed, average skill levels and the greater range of maneuvers (patterns/direction) that fliers are doing with them... More than ever, I love looking back at the old videos in comparison - way more depth now imho.

Dual line experienced something similar with the initial proliferation of tricks in the mid to late 90s, although I think it's suffering now with a great many pilots who have skipped right past fundamental skills (precision, landings, speed control, etc) in favor of "jerking it" all day... I'd love to see more pilots with well rounded skills, especially to feed/create teams.

The type of kite flying boils down to personal preferences, most frequent flying conditions, time management, and current mood. There are probably other basic considerations, but it's early and I haven't had a beer yet. Lump all that together and different folks have different strokes to get the maximum zen ... otherwise, everyone would still be driving "black Model Ts" or flying quad 1.5s.

Long Reply:

Some kite flying factors among others include:

The personal preferences list could be endless. Basically, it boils down to (1) fly to please yourself, (2) fly to please others, or (3) fly to please both.

Most frequent flying conditions are dictated by field size, location, wind patterns, number of other kite flyers, and number of other people/animals.

Time management dictates the amount of attention to detail one can afford and the type of flying one does. Some people only fly a few hours per month or year and others make it a career. Some people get to the beach's smooth winds a few days a year and others are there for many days.

Current mood boils down to flying alone or in a group (1) low, slow, and smooth, (2) high, fast, and jerky, (3) some other combination that feels good at the moment.

Different paragraphs could be written about each consideration by each flyer. We have different finger prints, different blood types, and dfferent circumstances. Some things have a lot of overlap with other people and some don't. That's what makes the world go around and why there are more quad models than just 1.5s.

Me and the dog ... home alone and unsupervised for the rainy weekend. Can you tell? Besides, I had excess analyzer genes that needed exercise, since the dog doesn't want to go for a walk. That leaves me typing, and a few bored people reading, this pooper scooper material. Ok, just me typing.

Longer Reply:

Even I am not that analytical or bored ... UNLESS you want to read about my kite flying preferences! Bueller ... Anyone! Even the dog is sleeping!

still developing my Rev flying - but it has been a slow journey as the winds round here are rubbish most of the time. Suspect my collection is not untypical of how one Rev leads to another

Started with an EXP - enjoyed it and got good at flying Revs, bit slow thoughSo got a Supersonic - didnt fly it much, too fast and unforgiving for the winds round hereSo got a Rev 2 - love it, sometimes a bit too bonkersSo got a Rev 1.5 vent, swopped spars/tweaked etc - good and adaptable platform, even framed as ULThen got a Rev 1 just to have one really - so graceful in the right conditions

Next purchase might be a 1.5 Baressi, but rarely have the opportunity to fly quad so unlikely for a while

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